Using Tart Cherry Juice As A Natural Sleep Aid

By Alongabbeyroad @alongabbeyroad
While breastfeeding, I've been on a desperate search for a natural sleep aid. Maybe it's hormones (it's always hormones!), but my sleep has been off. Yes, having a baby messes with my beloved sleep, but I've been having a hard time zonking off and and then staying asleep long enough to feel rested.
Then heaven came knocking in the form of tart cherry juice. Tart cherries are one of the few natural sources of melatonin, which is responsible for controlling your body's internal clock and sleep cycles. Studies have shown that drinking tart cherry juice or tart cherry concentrate twice per day can increase sleep by up to 90 minutes per night. Heck yeah, sign me up!
With the end of Daylight Saving Time approaching, Choose Cherries is having a 14-day Sleep Challenge to test this very theory of tart cherry juice increasing the quality of sleep. I obviously am taking part because a) mama needs to sleep because babies and toddlers are a total wreck duing the time change, and b) cherries are delicious.
I will be tracking my sleep with my Fitbit to measure if the tart cherry juice does in fact improve sleep quality. I'm excited to see the results! Also, does anyone else have a Fitbit? Do you like it? Love it? Hate it? I have started using it to track calories and exercise because I am on a mission to lose 10 lbs! I've been tracking for one day and already went over my allotted calories for the day. Womp, womp, woooommmp. But! I am taking steps in the right direction ... literally. (Ha!) Give me all your tips! And I invite you to join along in the 14-day Tart Cherry Juice Sleep Challenge!
I will be back in two weeks to share my findings and will be hosting a special giveaway worth $550! (Hint, hint: You could very likely win your own Fitbit, along with a bunch of other amazing goodies.) Stay tuned!
 This post is in partnership with Choose Cherries. I have been provided the Choose Cherries product and Fitbit for the 14-day sleep challenge. All opinions and findings throughout the challenge are my own. Thanks for supporting our sponsors!